This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 342 Revolution

Chapter 342: Chapter 342 Revolution

"Wow, wow, wow! You actually have so many great things here!"

Floor B4 Viewing Room.

Gazing at the shelves filled with numerous books, Pai’s eyes sparkled, resembling sapphires lit by a torch.

Standing next to Pai, Little Fish said in a very soft voice,

"Brother Chu said you can freely read anything, but you can’t take them out of the sanctuary, and make sure not to damage them."

It was 8 PM, and she had changed from her work uniform to loose-fitting home clothes. Her tied-up ponytail was also let down, her smooth hair draped over her shoulders, making her look like the girl next door.

Incidentally, both outfits were designed by Vine Cottage.

"Don’t worry!" Pai joyfully continued as he took a heavy encyclopedia from the shelf, heavier than his own head, "I will take good care of it!"

Standing behind them, Chu Guang, intrigued, asked a question as he watched Pai take the encyclopedia,

"Don’t you have these where you’re from?"

"We do! But not this many!"

Pai gestured on the shelf with his left hand and continued,

"My master’s bookshelf at home is about half this size. It holds the books he picked up in the Wasteland, along with some broken storages. He has spent half his lifetime trying to fix them, but so far, he’s only achieved a little."

Chu Guang, quite surprised, said, "It seems your master is a respectable scholar."

"Of course!" Pai proudly tilted up his nose, "That old man knows a lot!"

"..."

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"...You might suggest to your teacher to teach more students, so he could relax a bit."

Pai sighed, looking helpless,

"I’ve always suggested that, but it’s just too hard to get any students... Our camp is alright, but in other Survivor Settlements outside many can’t even have enough food."

It seemed this young girl wasn’t entirely unaware of the ways of the world, which somewhat surprised Chu Guang.

"You could bring him here to see what it’s like; we have managed to solve basic food and shelter issues here."

Like acting as a Minister of Education or something.

Although this sentence was said in a half-joking tone, after hearing it, Pai’s eyes brightened and she excitedly said,

"Hey, that’s right, you have so much good food here, surely you don’t lack people who have had their fill. Once I return, I’ll suggest this to my master to recruit some strong hands!"

Fed and bursting... well,

this fellow really speaks his mind.

Chu Guang almost choked on his saliva and coughed, turning to look at Little Fish beside him.

"... You play with her for a while; take her wherever she wants to go,"

the core area of the sanctuary, that is, the control terminal at the very depths of Floor B4.

However, only Chu Guang had the access to that area; a normal person couldn’t even enter the equipment room in front, at best they could reach the gym behind the viewing room.

Little Fish obediently nodded.

"And what about you?"

Chu Guang glanced at the time on his VM.

"Heya has asked me to come to the medical lab for a check-up; I plan on going there soon."

For the past two months, he had mostly been at the frontline, and even the three days since he returned had been spent busily addressing various matters.

Though his Gene Sequence advanced several times during that period, his attribute panel hadn’t been updated.

Only this morning, dripping with sweat as he rose from his bed, did Chu Guang realize it had been a while since his last health examination.

Medical Laboratory.

Heya, wearing a white lab coat, had been waiting for a while.

Seeing Chu Guang come through the swing door, without any useless talk, she patted the scanning bed that resembled an operating table.

"Quick, lie down."

Being looked at with those eager eyes, Chu Guang always felt like he had become a lab rat.

But it wasn’t the first time.

He had long gotten used to it.

The scan data was produced, and the updated attribute panel quickly appeared on the VM.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Third stage)

Level: LV.22→LV.27

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 25

Agility: 18→20

Constitution: 21→22

Perception: 20→21

Intelligence: 20→24

]

The Sequence progress increased by 5 percentage points, which on the Attribute Panel, meant an upgrade of 5 levels.

However, what surprised Chu Guang the most was not that, but the fact that his attributes had grown by 8 points!

"Intelligence grew by 4 points! Goodness ... it’s almost catching up with strength!"

However, the fact that his strength attribute hadn’t increased at all was unexpected for Chu Guang.

Was it because he was commanding from the back?

Although the increased speed of his brain’s computations was indeed more helpful to him than muscle growth.

"Incredible... I’m becoming more and more interested in your body."

Staring at the tablet in her hands, Heya wore a look of disbelief and muttered incomprehensible words.

To be honest, if she didn’t speak, her face, which looked like it was from a 3D region, was quite beautiful.

No wonder her unobtrusive presence had surprisingly high popularity on the forums.

However, that was only if she didn’t speak...

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"...Please don’t say such misleading things."

Heya’s eyes widened.

"Misleading? No, I’m serious! Do you remember what I told you before? Your DNA shows traits similar to the lair’s – they can modify their own DNA actively based on the sub-entities’ evolution in the environment, expressing traits that better adapt to the environment! It’s unbelievable!"

...

Seeing Heya completely absorbed in her own world, Chu Guang silently put on his coat.

Yet, just as he was about to sneak out of the medical laboratory, Heya suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Wait, wait a minute... I have something else to ask you!"

Chu Guang: "...What is it?"

Heya spoke excitedly.

"Samples! My lab needs more samples of the ’mutated slime fungus’!"

"You previously locked the permissions of the area within the third ring road of Qingquan City, preventing me from posting tasks in that region and I couldn’t find you! Without more samples, the research on the ’mutated slime fungus’ can’t continue, I haven’t had any new progress for a whole month!"

Being stared at with that fervent gaze, Chu Guang reluctantly tapped twice on his VM.

"Alright, alright, I’ll unlock it for you..."

Happy to let go, Heya’s expression finally returned to normal.

"Thank you!"

"You’re welcome, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now..." Before Chu Guang could finish, Heya had already turned and passed through the swing door to the adjacent sample analysis room.

Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left as well.

Actually, even if Heya hadn’t mentioned it, he had planned to lift the task posting restrictions for the second to third rings in a couple of days.

"Wasteland OL" never restricted players from exploring the map’s edge, the exploratory areas comparable to planets, and the outer space currently in production were all part of his grand designs.

However, although there were no restrictions on the players’ active zones, Chu Guang had always limited the NPCs’ permissions.

Especially the range of task postings.

Apart from the Merchant Guild, no other units could issue tasks to players that were too far from the New Alliance’s signal range.

Certain overly dangerous areas were not allowed in the regular task list.

However, after the battle in West State City, among the players, many had already undergone their Second Awakening and reached the third stage.

For instance, the Niu Ma Squad; the area within the third ring road of Qingquan City was no longer too dangerous for them.

The restrictions on tasks involving the central urban area could be gradually lifted, but the task acceptance level had to be set at LV20 or higher.

Though death wasn’t a big deal for players, as a Manager, Chu Guang still hoped to avoid some meaningless deaths.

This way, their deaths could hold more value.

...

Sky Water City.

The tent of the Snake Clan’s leader.

Seeing the subordinates kneeling below, the leader of the Snake Clan’s eyes widened with veins popping.

"Golden Tooth is dead?!"

The person kneeling trembled as he spoke.

"Dead... I heard he was betrayed by his own people, blown up in an anti-cannon hole, only half of his body left."

"The people of the New Alliance hung his corpse at the north gate of the City of Dawn for public display, along with more than ten thousand leaders... Apart from three to five who surrendered voluntarily, the rest were all hanged."

"Most of the 20,000+ forces of the Ya Clan have been captured, some are said to have been sent to mines, others dig soil by the lake in West State City."

"Now the entire Western Province... that is our west, is already the New Alliance’s territory."

...

Listening to his subordinate’s report, the leader of the Snake Clan had a face filled with fear and confusion.

Half a month ago, Golden Tooth had still sent him messages, ranting about how he shouldn’t worry, waiting for him to take Qingquan City and meet with him in Red River Town.

Initially, he had not been worried at all.

The Ya Clan was the leader of the Chewing Bone Tribe, and Golden Tooth’s forces had nearly 30 tanks and over 30,000 men, his military strength and equipment were more than three times his own.

In contrast to the New Alliance, which was just a small village with a total population of no more than ten thousand.

Even if a pig was sitting there commanding, how could it end up so disastrously?

Looking at the map hanging on the wall, a look of grim despair gradually emerged on the solemn face of the Snake Clan’s leader.

West State City was less than 20 kilometers away from here, they only needed to follow the tributaries of Tianshui, pushing the cannons slightly forward, not even too far, to be able to drop the cannonballs directly over their heads.

The advisor standing beside him spoke softly.

"...The south has been under prolonged attack without success, and now a problem has emerged in the west. We can no longer stay here."

"Then where can we go? Are you suggesting we raid the north again?" the leader of the Snake Tribe said irritably.

The advisor remained silent for a while before sighing softly.

"The mine owners of Red River Town have united. Even if we concentrate all our forces and throw everything into taking that place, we would be greatly weakened in the battle against them, ultimately letting the New Alliance reap the benefits."

"...Let’s head east, following the flow of Tianshui. Although the most fertile soil is now beyond our reach, the Eastern Provinces can still provide a refuge. Let’s retreat now while the New Alliance is still preoccupied."

"Otherwise, we might find ourselves caught between two fronts."

The leader of the Snake Tribe fell silent.

Despite his great reluctance, he had to admit that this might be the only way out...

Red River Town.

Terrain in the southern part of Deer Horn Mountain.

The frontline commander, standing beside the anti-cannon hole with binoculars in hand, gazed at the repeatedly contested hilltop, a look of surprise gradually appearing in his eyes.

"...The Looter are retreating."

The adjutant standing next to him paused, then hastily asked,

"They’re retreating? What’s going on?"

"I’m not sure..."

The commander shook his head and handed the binoculars to his adjutant, "Take a look for yourself."

After accepting the binoculars, the adjutant closely observed the opposing hilltop for a while and indeed found no one there.

On closer inspection, several bayonets, still stuck in sticks, were visible outside the trenches.

Lowering the binoculars, he looked at the commander with a puzzled expression.

"...Could it be a trap?"

"Send a reconnaissance team to check it out," the commander said thoughtfully after a long pause, "Also, report this situation to the headquarters of the Mining Industry Association."

The adjutant nodded and immediately responded,

"I’ll arrange it now!"

The term "Mining Industry Association" had become historical, although most locals had not yet adapted to the change.

Since the news of a major victory at Pine Gorge spread, the mine owners and business association leaders in Red River Town had been arguing almost twice a day, surrounding the association every few days, and every day seemed like the end.

Of course, it wasn’t really going to end—real trouble often came quietly, perhaps with a brief resurgence at the final moment.

Despite the arguments, it was clear to everyone that their relationships were interdependent.

In this world enveloped by death and despair, no one could truly walk away from each other.

During the heated arguments, those previously irreconcilable issues surprisingly found resolution.

The merchants agreed to reduce the number of mercenaries, instead establishing a well-trained standing army, with the mine owners covering 70% of the military expenses while they would only cover 30%.

In exchange, the mine owners made more concessions on the issue of establishing a "more centralized management organization" and allowed the business associations running the various survivor settlements to have more seats in this organization.

After all, places with more free people tended to have more educated populations.

However, this also meant that the main residential areas of Red River Town would have to bear more public expenses than the large mines.

At the same time, all major mines and business associations had to contribute 10% of their profits as tax revenue to this unified organization.

From then on, Red River Town was officially renamed the Red River Alliance, no longer using its historical name.

Although always wary of the expansion of the New Alliance, they eventually became the very thing they despised...

The next day, early morning.

Chu Guang, who was inspecting work at the Merchant Guild, happened to receive a call from the New Alliance military base in Red River Town.

From Xu Shun, the person in charge of the military base, he learned about recent events in Red River Town. Surprised, he was somewhat bemused.

Good grief.

Red River Town turned into Red River Alliance?

Chu Guang had never expected that the epic victory at Pine Gorge by the New Alliance would cause such a sensation, even unintentionally promoting transformation among the survivor forces in Red River Town.

Perhaps envious of the achievements of the New Alliance, they simply copied his homework.

But not entirely.

Just selectively.

"...The Snake Tribe has already retreated, and they’ve submitted a written request asking us to reduce our troops in the Red River Alliance. They won’t need mercenaries for a long time to come."

Listening to Xu Shun’s report during the call, Chu Guang quietly thought for a while before speaking.

"Tell them we will plan to withdraw our troops after the threat from the Chewing Bone Tribe is completely eliminated, but not now."

"The Ya Clan has been eliminated, but there are still two others unresolved, and the Looter could come back at any time. Now is not the time to discuss this."

"Assure them that we won’t interfere in their internal affairs, but we must ensure the safety of our residents who engage in production and business activities there."

Thinking about sending away his players just because the Looter were driven away?

Does he look like someone who can be summoned and dismissed at will?

Dream on!

In reality, the New Alliance couldn’t possibly abandon its military presence in Red River Town.

Currently, it takes three days at least to travel from City of Dawn to there. If the military base were dismantled, it would mean players couldn’t save their progress or receive quests in Red River Town, and it might also mean that his players could be exploited by others.

This was something Chu Guang couldn’t accept under any circumstances.

On the other end of the communication channel, Xu Shun rendered a military salute and crisply responded,

"Yes!"

After the call ended, Chu Guang looked towards Old Charlie, who was standing quietly to the side, waiting.

Clearing his throat, he continued,

"There’s a minor issue in Red River Town, but it’s nothing major... what were we discussing just now?"

"We were talking about our neighbors to the south."

Old Charlie spoke in a calm tone, patiently picking up the topic that had been interrupted by the phone call.

"According to the information from the office you set up in Giant Stone City, the City Hall of Giant Stone City recently introduced a bill that requires weapon shops and vendors in Giant Stone City to stop selling the LD-47 series weapons."

"Clearly, they’ve realized that we are taking their market share."

The LD-47 was powerful and inexpensive, which made it popular among mercenaries.

Previously, its sales were poor, simply because the ammunition was hard to come by.

But now, as bullets from the New Alliance became increasingly cheaper, particularly after the copper mines in Qingstone County had started operation, slashing wholesale prices by half,

a trend towards vast profit margins meant that more and more traders preferred to import the cost-effective bullets produced by the New Alliance, causing a significant drop in sales data for the "Hornet" series assault rifles produced by the Giant Stone City Military Factory.

Chu Guang furrowed his brows in thought for a moment, then suddenly had a whimsical idea.

"What if we change its name? Like from LD to AK?"

Old Charlie paused, then responded with a wry smile,

"Do you think they are fools?"

Chu Guang smiled sheepishly.

"You’re right."

Changing the name to continue selling was indeed only likely to fool the foolish.

Those traders who wanted to continue doing business in Giant Stone City had to listen not only to the municipal government of the outer city but also to the factory owners.

Watching the Manager lost in thought, Old Charlie paused, then continued,

"Actually, losing this portion of the trade share isn’t a big deal. Mercenary groups that have a need will naturally come to our territory to make purchases. The slums and black markets outside the city, which are beyond the control of the outer city’s municipal government, also have access to our products."

"The real concern should be the shifting attitude of our neighbors towards us; our development has started alerting them."

Chu Guang nodded slightly with a somewhat solemn expression.

"Indeed, that is an issue."

The rapid industrialization accomplished by the New Alliance partly relied on small-scale players bringing production experience from the real world and partly on advanced tools provided by the Pioneer.

However, trade with Giant Stone City was also an indispensable part.

For instance, the production lines for solid hydrogen batteries and the KV-1 Exoskeletons and a significant number had been introduced from the second-hand equipment auctions in Giant Stone City.

Furthermore, a large number of engineers hired by the List Factory were also from the talent market in Giant Stone City.

Besides the products themselves, these enterprises from Giant Stone City helped foster a whole host of derivative industries.

Like advanced electrodes, control components, micro motors, and so forth.

Some of these components were exported back to Giant Stone City, while others were consumed by the domestic enterprises of the New Alliance.

Objectively speaking, these had significantly contributed to the industrial development of the New Alliance.

If the relationship with Giant Stone City continued to deteriorate, it was certain to impact the industrialization of the New Alliance.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be without impact on Giant Stone City itself.

For example, the A3 type composite aluminum from the Bachi Aluminium Factory was also frequently imported by factories in Giant Stone City.

As the New Alliance developed, it had also mastered some "core technologies."

Chu Guang looked at Old Charlie and asked,

"Do you have any good suggestions?"

Old Charlie continued,

"It’s quite unlikely that we will directly clash with them, but such a possibility does exist. The New Alliance is no longer just the small village it once was; our expansion has already triggered the alertness of our neighbors. In the long term, we still need to pay attention to our relations with them."

"For instance, we can send out diplomats for more official exchanges with our neighbors. Not only Giant Stone City but also Red River Town and even farther places like Garbage City... We don’t necessarily need them to stay friendly, but at least we need to prevent them from uniting against us."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"You make a good point, this issue does indeed require circumspect handling."

Previously, diplomatic affairs had always been managed by the Merchant Guild.

After all, at that time, the New Alliance was too small, and its relationship with other settlements was merely about trade, and even the tariffs were only set up two months ago.

Now things were different.

The population of the New Alliance had grown beyond ten thousand, and its territory had expanded north to West State City. Logistics no longer simply consisted of a few workshops and warehouses, and naturally, the relationships with neighbors couldn’t remain mere trade exchanges as before.

This involved geopolitical safety and strategic needs.

Actually, not merely diplomacy but also a range of sectors including economy, industry, transportation, energy, trade, education, and more, needed dedicated departments for management and not just his direct instruction every time.

Although Little Qi’s help made things easy, he could, if willing, allow a player on the front lines to move their machine-gun position forward by five meters.

Taking advantage of the victorious Northern Expedition, Chu Guang planned to implement the second reform of the New Alliance’s management.

The last reform involved the guards, this time it would be domestic affairs.

The bloated Logistics Department would be split, Chu Guang would further clarify the responsibilities of each department and the tasks they were in charge of.

This way, he could also reduce micro-management and lighten his own burden.

Noticing the Manager’s train of thought, Old Charlie smiled slightly, nodding respectfully and softly said,

"It seems you’ve realized it."

"Just now you asked me for suggestions, my suggestion is, now is the right time to do it."